Flight Of 5 Locks On The Former Somersetshire Coal Canal

The Flight of 5 Locks on the former Somersetshire Coal Canal, built around 1805, consists of five disused locks. The surveyor for the Canal Company was William Smith, known as the 'Father of British Geology', while the engineer for this flight, originally comprising 19 locks, was likely William Bennet. Currently, four locks are buried or destroyed, and ten are located in the nearby parish of Combe Hay.

These locks are of standard dimensions, approximately 70 feet long and 7 feet wide. The ashlar retaining walls still stand at about 10 to 12 feet high, although some are in poor condition. The entrance and exit walls are battered and splayed, and there are remnants of sluices and culverts. Notably, the fourth lock from the west features a milestone on the north-west side, which originally had a cast iron plate indicating "4/MILES," though this plate is now missing.

These five locks represent the final successful effort to manage the change in level on the Paulton branch of the canal, following two previous unsuccessful attempts involving a caisson lock and an inclined plane with three lower locks.